Racism, Discrimination and Segregation.

So far in English class we have been talking about many topics dealing with racism, discrimination, segregation etc. in history. We are currently reading the book The Secret Life Of Bees and all of these topics are addressed in this novel as well. Some examples from the reading are when Rosaleen and Lily go into town so that Rosaleen can register to vote. Even though she is now allowed to register she still gets harassed by three white men she encounters on her way into town. The three white men started making rude remarks and racial slurs towards Rosaleen, putting her down and judging her just because of the color of her skin. In class we had learned about many historical events that have taken place that include racism and discrimination.  We just recently watched a video on the Little Rock Nine which were a group of nine African-American students that attended Little Rock Central High school in Arkansas in the year 1957.  The Nine students were not allowed to enter the school, which was very segregated due to racism in the community. These students were looked down upon by white students, just like Rosaleen was looked down upon by white men in her town. Finally after an intervention by President Eisenhower, the nine students at Little Rock Central High were allowed to attend school but only under the supervision, and protection of  a soldier by their side. Even after let into the school, these nine students were followed by mobs of white students, and threatened to be lynched all because of the color of the nine students skin. This historical event shows that these nine students were discriminated by their own community, and by students that attended their school. This event is one of the many important events that took place during the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Another historical event we learned about in class also involved The Civil Rights Movement. This was the 1963 Birmingham Bombing, four little girls all of African-American descent were killed when the A Baptist Church IN Birmingham Alabama that they attended for Sunday School was bombed.

The Babptist Church that was bombed was used as a meeting place for Civil Rights Movement leaders such as Martin Luther King.  The bombing took place on September 15th, 1963 and a white man was seen getting out a car and placing a box under the steps of the church. Very soon after the box was placed under the steps, a bomb went of and resulted in the death of the four young girls. Later on the man accused for the bombing of the church was found out to be a member of the Klu Klux Klan, and was charged with murder and for possession of explosives. The bombing was found to be a "response" to the speech Rev martin Luther King Jr. gave at the March on Washington, which angered the Klan members. This event in history shows us that people will go to extreme limits to hurt people and discriminate others, for no reason at all. These people make remarks against people of opposite skin color, and intentionally harm them because of this. These events also along with many others, show that racism was a big issue in the past, and it was the cause of many horrific events.I think it is important that we are learning this material in school, it teaches us a lesson and informs us on how our world has evolved from past historical events. It has showed that people have realized their wrong doings, and have fixed their problems. 

"Ban Racism In America." Web. 16 Feb 2011. <http://blog.mkf.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ban-racism.jpg>.

"Baptist Church Bombing." Web. 16 Feb 2011. <http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2011/01/17/420x316-alg_16th_st_baptist_church.jpg>.